(Host) A Superior Court judge has denied an effort by the Vermont State Employees Union to stop the Douglas Administration from laying off almost 100 state workers.
The VSEA says it’s now considering other legal options to block the layoffs.
VPRs Bob Kinzel reports:
(Kinzel) The Union argued that specific provisions of the new state budget prohibit the Administration from implementing the layoffs without first receiving approval from the Legislature’s Joint Fiscal Committee.
But their case was weakened by the fact that the new law doesn’t go into effect until July first.
VSEA director Jes Kraus says he’s disappointed by the Court ruling.
He wanted the Douglas Administration to postpone the layoffs until a new retirement incentive program has been fully implemented:
(Kraus) "Now 100 people are really going out the door needlessly. Had the Administration wanted to give things a chance to kind of run their course, we firmly believe that 300 people who are eligible for retirement will be leaving state service in very, very short order. So it’s unnecessary to be laying off 100 people in advance of that provision taking affect."
(Kinzel) Kraus says the Union is now weighing several legal options to stop the layoffs:
(Kraus) "I don’t want to get too far ahead. I will be meeting with our legal team probably later on today and over the weekend to decide what the next steps are going be. Certainly one option would be an appeal immediately to the Supreme Court."
(Kinzel) Administration Secretary Neale Lunderville says the layoffs wouldn’t be necessary if the Union was willing to negotiate salary reductions and additional payments for health care.
And Lunderville says there’s no doubt that the section of the budget requiring legislative approval for additional layoffs is unconstitutional:
(Lunderville) "The budget represents really a frontal assault on executive authority. Putting the Legislature in the middle of management and labor relations is the wrong place for the Legislature to be and violates the separation of powers."
(Kinzel) House Speaker Shap Smith says he’s disappointed by the court ruling. Speaking on VPR’s Vermont Edition, Smith urged both sides to mediate their differences:
(Smith) "I think that’s disappointing and I would hope what will happen now is that the VSEA and the Administration will sit down and see if they can reach some agreement so that they can address the payroll concerns without any further reductions in force."
(Kinzel) The Douglas Administration is seeking a total of 320 layoffs to achieve its budget goals for the 2010 fiscal year.
For VPR News, I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.